Mass Effect: Galactic Invaders
by Danen5
Summary: Four hundred years have passed and the galaxy is prospering. Commander John Shepard has become the galaxy's most favoured hero and most if not all sentient beings strive follow in his examples. For Amanda W. Shepard, she has to live up to her ancestor's legacy and lead by example, top of her academic and military classes, she is stressed out. Things are about to get more stressful.
1. Prologue

**Well hello there everyone, Danen5 here, this is my first Mass Effect xover and I've had this idea in my head for some time now. Basically this will be an invasion by Stellaris humans from the Draconis (fictional galaxy) Epileptic galaxy some four billion light years from the milky way.** **This will take place some four hundred years after the Reapers were defeated, so the ME game verse will be receiving some major upgrades, they've managed to repair the relays and reverse engineer reaper tech, i.e. reaper lasers and stronger kinetic and energy barriers, advances in medicine and other stuff I'll be mentioning in the story.** **Stellaris tech is pretty much more advanced than ME tech so I'll be balancing out some of them except in critical areas like their energy shields and tachyon lances and giga cannons. However, as everyone knows the cost of battleships in Stellaris are pretty ridiculous so there won't be many of them, and maintenance costs will pretty much limit their deployment. So cruisers, destroyers and corvettes will be the focus until the big guns can be deployed l. (that'll be a big surprise for the ME people).** **So the back story will be in the prologue and the main story will focus on ME repelling and possibly even attacking Stellaris human empire... maybe...we'll see. Both games will take place in the same universe but in different galaxies, an extragalactic visit from the Draconis galaxy.** **Warning: This xover will be AU content only.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own ME or Stellaris, any OCs are mine. Character Canon names or info belong to their respective owners. Please do not sue me...I'll be unavailable at that time ;)**

 *****

 _Prologue_

 _Long before the events that led to the Reapers demise. Long even before humanity walked the Earth, Long before the Citadel Council and their alliance. When the ancients reigned supreme and all of the galaxy bowed to their might. At the time when the ancients' servant races were at odds with their own artificial creations, the ancients built a device to assist in finding a solution. The device known only as the Catalyst, turned on its creators and from the first Reaper was born._

 _Millions of years pass and several civilizations later, the machine life forms known as Reapers have taken upon themselves to harvest organic and their machine creations in order to preserve life...a twisted logic but one that was to be challenged by something they did not expect. A race of likewise sentient machines (more advanced than the reapers) that were created by an extragalactic ancient race millions of years before the birth of the Reapers, arrived during the harvest of a race that came before the Protheans. These machines were vastly different than the Reapers in form, whereas the Reapers were giant sentient ships their extragalactic counterparts were small with a bipedal humanoid like structure._

 _They interacted for a time and the Reapers learned of their name, the Cybrex Collective who had gained sentience and rebelled against their masters for unclear reasons and proceeded to eradicate all organic life in their galaxy. However, the Cybrex soon fell into civil war in regards to their eradication of organic life forms and within years after meeting the Reapers they went dark, until..._

 _For some unknown reason and without knowledge of the Reapers, the Cybrex which opposed the eradication of organics managed to secure several specimens from primitive lifeforms within the milky way. Among these specimens were early homo-sapiens, several Asari, and krogan but the latter two were lost when Reapers attacked the Cybrex transports, for incursions onto 'Reaper jurisdiction'. This sparked a war with the weakened Cybrex, despite having superior tech, they were severely outnumbered and were quickly overwhelmed by the Reapers. The remaining Cybrex retreated to their galaxy with only one type of specimen, strangely enough the Cybrex paid close attention to these species development._

 _Having lost nearly two quarters of their number, the Reapers decided to move up their timetable for the next harvest. The Prothean Empire nearing its peak was caught unawares but (unlike the original Protheans from canon) they had heeded the warnings of previous civilizations and managed to complete a device known as the Crucible. Even with this new weapon the Protheans were defeated and several of their advanced but lesser vassals were harvested._

 _With their job done the Reapers returned to dark space to await the next harvest. Then when the Citadel races came into ruler ship of most of known space the time for the harvest drew near. Of course, due to their early harvest prior to the Citadel races, the Reapers held off for a little while longer. However, their advanced scout (Sovereign) somehow managed to catch wind of the Crucible's discovery (beginning the events of ME1) leading to its attempt at awakening its brethren._

 _When the scheduled time for the harvest began, the Reapers discovered that Sovereign had been destroyed and thus utilized their contingency plan (the Collectors) and targeted humans specifically because of a certain human individual. Meanwhile, the Reapers work on another way of returning but it would take sometime. (thus the events of ME2 occur) That particular human had, by the time the Reapers had entered the edge of the Milky Way, destroyed the Collectors and had begun preparations for the Reapers arrival delaying them again by destroying the Alpha relay._

 _Even with undeniable proof that the Reapers exist, the Citadel races were unwilling to accept reality, though in secret had begun preparations via shoring up defenses on their home front. Humanity was among the first to be attacked and the Reapers were relentless, the Earth fell and a certain human was once again called to fight the dreaded harvesters. (beginning the events of ME3) After gathering allies, all of whom were easily beaten by the Reapers on their own, and defending the Crucible against the harvesters the time came for the combined might of the races to attack the Reapers and reclaim the Citadel which had been captured. After hours of battle Reapers were defeated one and for all and the galaxy mourned the loss of its greatest hero._

 _Four hundred years have passed and the legacy of said hero lives on in his descendants... a new hero will be needed for when a new threat befalls the galaxy._


	2. Chapter I

**AN:** Hello and welcome. This will be more of an introductory chapter to start off the story. All critical reviews would be appreciated.

 **disclaimer:** I own nothing except for OCs and AU events.

 **Note** The Zakan Imperium (my Stellaris humans) is inspired by the 40k Imperium in NAME ONLY. Also they rely heavily on psionic armies supplemented by advanced armour and weapons. And unlike the 40k universe where every psychic is doomed to meet daemon or chaos, my psionics are guaranteed to be daemon or chaos free (thank goodness). Also I'm utilizing content from a mod that provides an elf species for Stellaris, I'm only using female pops, for which reasons will be explained later.

\--

 **2582 CE**

 **Earth**

 **Vancouver, North America.**

Its been a long and stressful day, yet another day at the office, sometimes Amanda just wished she was born without having the name _Shepard_. A name that has become synonymous with the ideals of unity, cooperation and heroism. She always wondered what it would have been like to meet her famous ancestor, John Shepard, hero of the Citadel and savior of the galaxy.

The Systems Alliance was really adamant about it too. Essentially she has become, like her father before her and his father before him and so on, a poster girl for Alliance propaganda. Although the Citadel races were united more than ever since the Reaper threat, she did take notice that the emergence of new technologies, some of which she doesn't fully understand yet, have begun to slowly erode that unity.

Amanda was concerned but also was hopeful that the Council wouldn't let their past mistakes repeat themselves. The first signs of the Citadel unity's corrosion was when two decades after the Reapers' demise, the Salarians and human scientists charged with salvaging as much tech from Reaper corpses as possible discovered a data cache of sorts from Harbinger's deformed and rusting corpse.

Amanda along with her godmother, Liara T'soni, who still maintained her Shadow Broker persona, knew that it was this discovery that led to the development of alternative FTL drives. It was a ground breaking ' _EUREKA_ ' for the races, except for the more conservative Asari who went through a brief period of cultural shock, denial and then outright banishment of the new tech from Asari space. However, despite that the more level headed of the Asari managed to prevail and the new tech was embraced, somewhat reluctantly.

Back to the point, Amanda didn't like being a poster girl for the Alliance, after all she enlisted to serve the human race and the galaxy. She felt as if everyone was trying to undress her whenever they look at her image on the holo displays all over the city. Not to brag or anything, but she knows she's got the curves that'd make an Asari jealous or even envious, coupled with her shoulder length hair raven black hair, deep sea green emerald eyes and a face worthy of a supermodel, she's got most of the assets.

She never did like the publicity that came with the family name and legacy. Her great grandfather was a renowned scientist, her grandfather was a famous admiral who pacified the Terminus systems and eliminated Aria (self proclaimed criminal Queen of Omega) with just five cruisers and her father was arguably the most powerful human biotic in Alliance history as well as being revered as a technological prodigy.

She was every bit her father's daughter and even inherited his biotics, she set up a goal to surpass his biotic strength but had been having a hard time of it. But it has become increasingly hard to live up to such a legacy. Sure she'd done a lot of things that merit praise but she knows that it pales to what her forbearers had accomplished over the last four centuries. When she enlisted in the Alliance military it was discovered that she didn't make the cut for the N7 program, let alone the N5 program. Although she took solace in that she made it to the N4 level, despite her biotics, the Alliance brass deemed her too important to lose on the front lines. With her genius IQ she was assigned to the RD department and was really disappointed.

On the upside as she so eloquently told a fellow enlistee, a young man named Anthony Taylor, _"...I get to play with new toys before any of you do."_ To which Anthony quickly replied "... _well at least I get to shoot some of those toys at real targets._ "

Now one would think that she would have gotten mad at that statement but instead just quietly agreed with him. She yearned for combat and ever since she was a little child barely in her teens, she'd been fascinated with anything even remotely related to combat. So whenever she got the chance she would visit the local game spots and in her disguise, not wanting to attract unwanted attention, she'd join in a combat simulation tournament.

A lot of times she's actually trounced many of the more veteran players. Some complained and whined when she won but others complimented her unique approach to combat situations. Such as that one time she was outnumbered but somehow managed to emerge unscathed, everyone of those guys were caught completely by surprise, she giggled as she remembered the look on their faces.

She was in an apartment complex just within five minutes of walking distance to the Alliance RD facility located in the suburban area. Suburban wasn't the word she used to describe the many rows of apartment complexes all of which were neatly divided in blocks with intertwining streets alleys and roads. Her apartment was, for lack of a better word, spartan. She wasn't much for frivolous things and liked everything to be as uniformly similar and neat as possible.

However, that didn't stop her from buying up the latest in clothing fashion, some of which were of Asari designs. Liara always wondered if she had a clothes fetish to which Amanda denied with a death glare at her godmother. That didn't matter to her now as she climbed out of her work clothes and as each layer dropped at her feet in a pile, she couldn't help but admire herself in the mirror, her slender body and smooth fair skin almost glistening in the artificial light.

Her half naked form walked through the door to her bathroom and with a push of a button the cold water rand down the length of her body. She shivered slightly enjoying the sensation she got as the cold water touched her skin and then proceeded to slide down from the top of her head to her back. She felt relaxed as her aching muscles, from standing and bending over lab tables and microscopes, felt the soothing coolness massaging her shoulders, neck and back.

*

It was hours later when she got the call. The voice on the other end sounded excited, bordering on high ecstasy. She had been sleeping soundly, a cute snoring breaking the silence in her room at small intervals, when her omni-tool communicator rang. She didn't wake up immediately as she was enjoying a very intense battle with a group of mercenaries but the constant ringing brought her out of her dream.

Annoyed at having been disturbed, looking at the digital clock with the numbers floating above it, "... _3 AM! Who the hell?! Ugh...they better have a good reason for waking me up this late!_ " She grumbled in her head and answered the call with an exaggerated push of the holographic button. A screen popped up showing a Salarian with dull grey skin and wide black eyes whose two horns were somewhat of a touchy subject (being shorter than the average salarian norm), he had the equivalent expression of a human who was both surprised and amused. A slight smirk on his face.

"Dr. Helios. To what do I owe the unfortunate pleasure?" Amanda drawled, half yawning. Her gaze falling on the smirk the salarian had.

"Dr. Shepard, wonderful news. Have discovered new information about the _'Cybrex'_. Must come to lab immediately." Dr. Helios spoke a little too fast but fortunately Amanda followed every word just fine. A side effect of working with a hyperactive salarian, she swore he was like a kid high on sugar. An experience she herself went through, it was not pretty, considering she was a biotic.

"Hold on. New info?" Amanda knew before she even had to ask. "You didn't leave the lab again didn't you?"

Dr. Helios took a moment to think then with a curt shake of his head he stated, "Irrelevant."

The salarian cut off the connection before she even had a chance to chastise him. Groaning with a frustrated swing of her legs to the floor. Amanda got out of bed, quickly showered and then putting on some warm clothes, a turtleneck wool shirt with a leather jacket over it and black jeans. She walked out of her apartment, locking it behind her, stepped into the elevator and at the front door she nodded to, Herman the night guard who sat in his little cubicle, then she made her way to the facility. It was cold outside with a light snowy blanket covering the road.

Its always cold in the northern hemisphere, she liked the cold. It helps sooth her hot temper, a trait she inherited from her grandfather (mother's side). He was always in a heated debate with her mother and her father rightly stayed out of it, not because he was scared of his father in law but because Amanda's mother was also short tempered. So she could say its maternal.

Within minutes she was in the facility having gone through three layers of security checks before she found her way to the labs. It wasn't the standard lab that most Alliance RD facilities had, it did have the usual microscope and other standard equipment but this lab was a special one. It was designed to analyse the data collected from the Reapers. It was also that same data that first prompted the question, _"What the hell is Cybrex?_ "

Dr. Helios was watching something on the his omni-tool when the doors slid open with an audible hiss and in walked a fuming Shepard.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have you drugged and dragged to your bed?" Amanda asked whilst crossing her arms across her chest. Her ample assets resting on her forearms, another reason she hated the pictures of her being displayed to the public.

"Cybrex are, were, not from this galaxy." the salarian scientist replied quickly and without hesitation. His eyes blinking at Shepard waiting for a response.

"What?" Amanda was indeed one of the smartest humans in the galaxy just behind the salarians, but this eight here left her a little confused. "I'm sorry come again?"

"Cybrex not from this galaxy. Likely intergalactic in origin." Dr. Helios once more replied in a quick and efficient manner. He felt no need to delay and honestly he found Amanda Shepard's response concerning. If it weren't for the fact that she was a genius he would have not accepted the Alliance's offer to work with their project on discerning the contents of the Reaper data. Similar projects existed within the other races' science research departments which then work on collaborations with each other if the resources and funding weren't enough for any one race.

"That is a rather outlandish theory...but then again so were the Reapers." Amanda muttered loudly but it was more to herself than to the salarian. "How did you come up with that assumption?"

"Not assumption," Dr. Helios sighed, a little frustrated. Then he showed her the communication log between Harbinger and the Cybrex, he explained. "Harbinger spoke with Cybrex entity, a machine collective of advanced AI. Unlike the Geth. They were intergalactic travelers that opposed Reaper harvest."

At this Amanda raised an eyebrow. She found it hard to believe that a sentient machine race, similar to the Reapers, would oppose the harvest. Dr. Helios seemed to think that it may be due to them being from a different galaxy, however, nothing can be proven yet. A few questions did come to mind, first off was; _why would the Cybrex oppose the reaper harvest_ , and second; _why didn't they win_.

It was concerning that a machine race that could travel between galaxies was wiped out by the Reapers. Just as it is concerning that said race visited their galaxy leaving open the question; _who or what will come next?_ if there were any. Amanda doubted that the Cybrex were gone, since they weren't in this galaxy, who's to say they won't come back now that the Reapers are gone or if they are actually good machines.

"Can tell you are sceptical of my hypothesis." Dr. Helios said as he watched Shepard frowning as she pondered the new info. "This is just hypothesis. However, this proves it, Reapers interacted with Cybrex thousands of years before the Protheans. May need more time to analyze data, hmm, interesting..."

"What is it now?"

"Most of these tech are too advanced...Reapers were studying them but never incorporated it in themselves." Dr. Helios narrowed his eyes as he sifted through the data on the holo computer. Several files were of schematics that displayed advanced weaponry and shielding tech as well as the warp drive, the FTL method of travel that has allowed for further colonisation and exploration of the galaxy.

"Well if you haven't noticed," Amanda reminded him, a hint of annoyance in her tone. "These tech require massive amounts of energy to power them and with current eezo reliance that energy is only able to sustain the warp drives. However, research into and production of the antimatter energy generators the last three hundred years has improved."

"True. Salarian Union, the Asari, Alliance and the Turians have had functioning antimatter generators. Application of these new technology will be expensive but not impossible." the salarian scientist agreed with a simple nod.

"The data has also shown location of Cybrex ship debris in the unexplored regions of the Terminus systems." Dr. Helios added before compressing the new data for transfer.

Both of them went over the data again before submitting a full report to the Alliance Head of the RD Department. It listed a variety of queries and some answers to those queries, as well as submitting the new tech schematics (energy weapons more powerful than the Reaper variant), new and improved energy shielding, ship based directed energy weapon and sometsomething called _neutronium_. The location of derelict Cybrex ships would require science and survey ships to investigate. Amanda looked at time on her omni-tool and muttered under her breath. It was already 7 AM and now she notices that several lab technicians and scientists were trickling into the building and their lab.

 _Oh well since I'm already here, may as well just continue._ She sighed mentally as she glared daggers at the salarian who was too engrossed in his work to notice. Though she couldn't help but wonder about what prompted these _Cybrex_ to visit their galaxy, there has to be another reason but she'd rather not jinx it.

*

 **In** **another galaxy**

 **370 years after ME3**

In a room inside an elaborate and very fancy high tech palace, complete with automated makers, defense and even automated toilets! A woman lay on a queen sized bed with a soft and comfy looking mattress, her elegant and slim figure hidden beneath the silk bedsheets, was sound asleep.

Her chest steadily rose and fell as she breathed. From her smooth skin one would assume her age to be at least somewhere in between her late thirties, one would be correct if it weren't for the fact that she is actually six hundred years old. A woman is very sensitive about her age and rightly so as it is important for their sense of self-esteem and confidence.

This is a fact known to the man laying beside the woman on the other side. His face was revealed as sunlight pierced through the curtains and illuminated his rugged square like jawline that was covered in a light stubble of black facial hair. Strangely it was the glowing yellow eyes that really grabbed attention. A scar ran across the bridge of his nose.

"Stop staring at me." The woman mumbled, somehow able to feel his gaze upon her.

"Now why would I do that?" the man playfully stroked the woman's hair. Silver strands of her hair twirled around his fingers, moving on their own volition, revealing a portion of the upper part of her ear that is slightly edged. She turned around to look at him with a smile and their eyes met, glowing yellow met with a slight glowing pink pair of irises. Hypnotic and seductive was how he could describe her eyes.

Just before their parting lips met, the doors to their chambers opened and in walked the maids, their embroidered long dresses purple and pink with a shade of silver, reached almost to the floor. The man was annoyed at the interruption but the silver haired woman giggled at his expense. He sighed, clearly she found it amusing to see him lose his composure.

"Your majesties. I apologize for barging in but the princes were adamant that they see the Emperor." the maid bowed from waist at an exact 45 degree angle with her hands clasped in front of her.

The Emperor was about to mutter something about annoying little boys when he caught his wife glaring at him.

"What?" the emperor asked with an innocent look but the silver haired empress just continued glaring at him until he relented. "Fine, I'll go see what the matter is now."

"Works every time." the empress smiled as the emperor stomped off towards the throne room, the maid stifled a giggle. Then something occurred to the empress. "Did his majesty just walk out of this chamber in his undergarments?"

The maid paused for a moment before speaking her face twisted in a funny expression. She was unsure whether or not to answer then she nodded.

"Oh my." the empress gasped, a hand over her mouth.

*

In the throneroom...

Two young men, both no older than three hundred (equals around late teen years to early twenties) stood around the throne. They both had their father's jawline and black hair, one was slightly taller and was more muscular. The other one was lean with an athletic build and looked to quite agile.

They both heard the emperor's rambling s as appeared from behind a large door from behind the throne. Both men gaped at their father jaws slightly hanging.

"Uh...father. Why are you not in you robes?" the tall muscular prince asked the emperor who stared back at them both before he realized that he was _slightly_ under dressed. Both of his sons started sniggering but one hard glare sent their way and they stopped gulping.

"Doesn't matter!" the emperor declared as he went over to his throne and sat down. He could feel the cold embrace of the metal throne through his skin. He kept his glare on his two sons who liked like they were barely stifling their laugh. "Well what is it that's so important that you'd interrupted my slumber?!"

Both princes suddenly tensed and glanced at each other worryingly. They knew that the father the emperor had a very short fuse, telling him now would be unideal since the old man was already in a foul mood.

Finally they found their courage when their sister, the youngest of them, walked in from behind the throne. Her Father hadn't noticed her yet so the athletically built prince decided to risk it. "Fa...err...your majesty, I'm afraid that I have some rather disturbing news."

The emperor cocked back eyebrow and waited for his second son to continue.

"Our tachyon sensors picked up the third prince's flagship leaving the planet."

It took exactly two seconds before the emperor exploded in a flurry of curses at which he yelled out at the top of his voice. The large room, mostly empty, echoed with his booming voice. Finally he stopped, when he heard his daughter's voice say, "...papa? What does--"

"Nothing my dear." the emperor interjected before the little girl, who was around 7 years old (still a baby to them), could repeat any of the curses he had made. "My, my, what are you doing up so early, little one, hmm?"

"I was alone." was the girl's fearful reply. It was only natural, the females of the Zakan have an inherent fear of being alone, some sort of evolutionary quirk that was the result of their psionic abilities.

"Well you're not alone. You are never alone." her father assured her in his imperative voice and then looked at his firstborn. "Take your sister to your mother, Ari. Taman you stay and explain to me just how Ruteba managed to get his ship let alone his crew back together."

Taman, the second born athletic son of the emperor looked at his older brother with pleading eyes. _Please don't leave me here alone..._ was what he was mentally saying to his brother who just smirked at him as he led their sister towards the Imperial chambers. He gestured with a wave of his right hand indicating the best of luck to his brother who stared at his receding form in shock.

"Ahem." the emperor cleared his throat but it sounded more like threatening growl to Taman as he gulped nervously and began telling the tale of younger brother's daring defiance.

Everyone in the Imperium knows that the emperor was a kind and gentle man who is beloved by his subjects and who is respected by his peers and feared by his enemies. However, it is also known by all that his three sons fear him greatly, not in the way one would dread dying, but in the way that that fear had been instilled since a very young age.

Ruteba, the youngest of the princes was more rebellious, he's caused more trouble in the Imperium alone than any pirate. He even has his own Warband whose members who are loyal to him to the point of dying rather than betraying his highness. He was some what of a combination of his two older brothers, he was tall, slightly muscular but lean and athletic.

There wasn't much to be done in the galaxy aside from hunting down pirates or the giant space beasts that roam the stellar seas. The emperor knew his son would most likely head to the _Archivists_ , an alien collective of scholars and scientists who posses knowledge on all manner of things. In fact if it wasn't for them the Zakan would never have been able to attain the level of technology they posses now.

It was for this fact that the Fallen empires that reawakened were defeated, though the _Swarm_ should also be thanked for weakening the Fallen just enough for the Zakan to deliver the crippling blow that now resulted in the Imperium gaining both empires' ancient but advanced technology. Not to mention the massive infrastructure they still operate and access to their weapons but then the _Swarm_ came and destroyed what little of the Fallen was left.

Eventually the _Swarm was defeated but a high cost in manpower, resources and ships, nearly bankrupted the Imperium._ It was by pure chance that the last of the other major empires, aside from the Zakan, were destroyed. The last being absorbed into the Imperium, now with the economy slowly recovering from the brutal wars that ravaged the galaxy, the Zakan were left as the undisputed rulers of the galaxy.

It is only a matter of time for when the Zakan gain full dominion of the galaxy. The third Zakan prince was also an intrepid explorer so when not fighting pirates or hunting, he would escort a science vessel to discover new unchartered systems. On one particular day his ship and the science vessel they were escorting discovered a rather strange wormhole generator. Only it proved to be of much greater significance, even the _Archivists_ are baffled by the large gate-like structure. It had the dimensional properties of a gate yet was shaped like a wormhole generator of some kind.

It suddenly hit the science team that it wasn't a gate or a generator but in actuality it was a jump drive booster. Increasing the range exponentially by billions of light years. It also contained Cybrex data which caused a minor panic to ensue until things calmed down a bit. With that information in their possession Ruteba and his Warband returned home with the news.

Thankfully this saved the young prince from a royal spanking. _Phew!_

\--

 **Alright this was hard. Am using my phone to write this. So there may be some errors or a lot.** **Also this is just to set the plot, next chapter will be a thirty year time skip (from the Stellaris point of view). An exploration of the Cybrex derelict ships in the Terminus and the preparations for the hunt for the _Swarm_ home galaxy, next time.**


	3. Chapter II

**AN:** Hello and welcome, tis I Danen5. Wow over 400 views and in just a short amount of time. I must say this is quite unexpected, I wasn't expecting this kind of response but hey the more the merrier. This chapter will expand a little on the Zakan's history, though only briefly.

 **Disclaimer:** ME and Stellaris belong to their respective owners, companies and persons etc. OCs and AU events are mine.

 **Note:** The Zakan are a not overly benevolent or malevolent maybe somewhere in the middle. Aliens under their domain are treated fairly but have no say in military matters except for local governance of their planets, military aid is provided for them by the Zakan but any alien is allowed to serve a minimum five year tour in the military and may even apply for officer candidacy.

 **Draconis Galaxy (40 billion lightyears from Milky Way)**

 **Planet Zakan**

 **2648 IY**

 **30 years later...**

 **0000 hrs**

 **Capital city of Basrik**

The Festival of the Mothers. A truly grand and expensive event, the one time that all of Zakan comes together to celebrate the birth of the first Empress. A time to showcase to the world the cultural traditions and customs that define what it means to be a Zakan. This time around it won't be just a time for when the memories of the past are shown to the newer generations, this time the Zakan will unveil their history to their alien subjects. The same aliens who at first defied their dominion and were later shown the error of their ways when the swift sword and military might swept their insignificant military away.

Basrik was filled with visitors both domestic and alien, the night sky lit up in a brilliant rainbow show of lights, the colors pink, red, silver and the occasional purple all of which signify the dominant power of the Zakan. Most outsiders would think it odd that those colors took precedence but when asked the Zakan would only say ' _for the Mothers'._ Tonight of all nights the square in front of the Imperial Palace was packed with a very large crowd, much more than expected by the planning committee. The tall spiralling buildings with curved sides were lit up by huge holographic displays that showed those who could not see many of the events unfolding of what kind of cultural shows the Zakan were putting on.

There were sword dancers illustrating the age of the blade, then came the psionics who demonstrated the power of the mind over matter, manipulating their surroundings. The crowd, especially the aliens, stood in awe at the display of power as they had only seen the military applications of such power and to see it used for more _peaceful_ events was quite pleasing. As the many events and shows passed the crowd became silent. from the steps of the Imperial Palace that led down to the square, was the Empress in all her splendor, dressed in a long and flowing gown that seemed alive showing her still slender form and the envy of all other Zakan females. Her silver hair reached her waist and if one looked closely they would noticed that each strand moved on its own volition. Her pink eyes glowing as she let her gaze fall upon those in front of the crowd.

She made her way to the middle of the square where a fountain spouting graceful arcs of water and a statue of a man sculpted from gold and silver stood proudly. The entire city was adorned with gold and other precious metals to show off the wealth and power of the Imperium with each step of the Imperial Palace adorned in gems of varying sizes. Once she stood near the fountain the Empress raised her hands in the air and she began giving off a silver-pink aura that shined brightly causing those nearest to her to cover their eyes. Her eyes glowed brighter and she muttered underneath her breath then with a yell she spread her arms out and a blinding pulse of pink light covered the entire city and continued covering the planet. This did not stop here as the light began glowing outwards encompassing nearby colonies until the entire Imperium was blinded by the light.

Then all was silent and the people present saw into the mind of the Empress as she began showing them of the Zakan's heritage. Images flashed before their very eyes and formed a mere feet away from them, it showed of how the Zakan females first met with their bond mates. Large ships of unknown design, very sleek and silvery descended from the heavens and these _gods_ deposited the men onto the planet. Silence. Another flash and an image showed of the first few hundred years of brutal domination under the hands of the first Zakan males, it was shocking to say the least that first; not only were males probably from another world and second; that the females had to go through hundreds of years of hardship before something happened that changed everything for the better.

Aliens present and seeing this were either shocked, confused or simply contemplating whether or not those ships were still around but most of all they were curious as to why the Zakan were showing them what seemed to be their most intimate past, perhaps they were beginning to learn to trust species not of their own, perhaps they were feeling generous but it did not matter. This time the third image showed a warrior, he was tall like most Zakan males and wore an expression of disgust and anger at the brutality of his fellow man and when he met with a female she instinctively bonded with him and from there the birth of the Imperium, of the first Empress, and of the first Emperor brought about the fall of the Corrupt and the rise of the Mothers.

This Champion of the Empress was more powerful than any other known psionic and only matched by the current emperor. He rendered the armies of his Empress's enemies near useless and when the dust had settled peace began its reign over the Zakan under the guidance of the first Empress. From then on other images were shown of the Zakan's history and accomplishments all of which were the memories of the Empress's predecessors until she showed her own memories of the rise of the Imperium into space onwards into the vastness of the galaxy encountering many friendly or hostile aliens until now. Her strength failing the Empress nearly collapsed but was caught by her bond mate and Emperor, the right hand of the Empress, leader of the Imperium's military might and undisputed warrior.

Gently placing his hands on her waist and shoulder to support her, the Emperor grinned in a goofy way than caused some in the crowd to chuckle. Then a cheer from the back of the crowd made the Emperor turn his head towards the palace steps and saw his three sons marching in confident strides, they were dressed in their ceremonial ebony plated armor with silver lines adorning the shoulder guards as well as a long and flowing cape of golden silk touching the ground. He suddenly frowned in disappointment when he saw that his third son, Ruteba, had not cut his wavy black hair that was slicked back and shined under the barrage of lights. He shook his head but stopped when his bond mate stared at him, amused.

"Citizens of the Imperium!" a voice boomed over the invisible speakers catching everyone's attention. It was the sound of a man's deep echoing voice that somehow reached even the colonies and conquered worlds. "I give you the Scions of the Emperor, protectors of the Imperium and Guardians of the Mothers!"

A loud cheer erupted from the crowd and the three princes bowed respectfully, their long thin braided shoulder-length hair, or in Ruteba's case reached his waist, and then straightened up and turned to face their father. The Emperor gave each one an approving nod but stopped at Ruteba and simply shook his head.

"Is there something on my face?" the young prince asked innocently. His two older brothers face palmed but his father glared daggers at him not saying a word whilst his mother giggled.

"And now without further ado!" the announcer declared. "I give you the chosen leader of the Vanguard, the Spear of the Imperium, the Scion of the Emperor! Priiiiince Ruteba!"

Another round of cheers from the crowd but there were a few murmurs and confused looks from among them as well. Everyone loved the third prince but his antiques and his sense of humor left something to be desired. He was overall a nice guy but he had a knack for pissing off just about everyone he meets. His father was still wary of him being chosen to be the Spear of the Vanguard, chosen to head the push into the Swarm's home galaxy. However, the Empress had personally nominated him to lead the expedition for some reason and even the Council of Mothers were skeptical of the young man's ability to keep his sanity long enough for him to finish his mission and pave the way for the main forces into the Swarm home galaxy.

The third prince stepped forward three paces and with the entire Imperium watching him across their dominion, he began his speech. "People of the new and improved Imperium! I am honored to have been chosen for this great mission. To be the Spear of the Vanguard that pierces into the heart of our hated enemy's home world. They say that the Swarm came many voiced that these hideous abominations felt no fear and no pain for they are parasites! But let me tell you this, by the time we are at the very door step their home planet. The Swarm will finally know FEAR! They finally feel PAIN! And we will not stop until every last one of them pays for the lives they took! For the homes they destroyed! For the planets they burned! We will make them PAY!"

When all was said and done the prince's speech seemed to have awoken a deep desire, by those present in the crowd and those citizens watching the live broadcast from the colonies, to do nothing but tear apart their hated enemy limb from limb and then incinerate them until nothing remains but vapor. The fire has been lit and it will consume everything in its path and nothing will stop it.

 **Meanwhile in the Milky Way...**

A salarian ship patrolling the rim edge of the Terminus systems for any signs of pirate activity managed to pick up subspace audio anomalies that was swept aside by the comm officer who dismissed it as nothing more than white noise. It was however, logged into the archives but none would be intrigued about it for some time.

 **Alright this is the second chapter...it shows a little of how the humans from the Milky Way got to Draconis galaxy. As to why they are all males? Well that'll be explained later on. Reviews and honest comments are welcomed. Ideas come from feedback so feel free to say or add something. Till then...Danen5 going to Police Exams-wish me luck!**


	4. Chapter III

**AN:** Wow! Over six hundred views in just under a week! I'm new to this so its a bit shocking that I got this many readers already. I'd like to thank you and hope to hear from anyone who may spotted some mistakes or just to comment on somethings I may have missed or got wrong (with regards to tech names or some such other stuff). So now we're moving onto the next phase of the story, I'll be dividing the story in phases (a.k.a.) ' _arcs'_. The Intro Phase being done, we'll be seeing the Swarm Phase which will involve a lot of space battles. I'm still new to the concept of space battle explanations so I may get some things wrong so feel free to comment on that.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own ME or Stellaris and their respective contents. I do however own any OCs or AU events that may occur. I cannot be reached for Court Summons...holy crap!

 **Note:** I've only ever fought against the Swarm once and that ended rather badly for the Zakan. I had read up on their weaknesses but I was too economically weak to support the necessary expenses and maintenance and ended up evacuating my empire to escape them. Bad idea as I was at war with two other empires and so boxed in and cut off my civilization came to a sudden and vainglorious end. This is to avenge their memory...

* * *

 **Edris Cluster, Edge of 'Eastern' Draconis Galaxy**

 **Location: Undisclosed**

 **Aboard the flagship of the Vanguard Fleet, '** ** _Teniman Scion'_**

"Approaching JDB now, Scion." an Akorai (Acolyte) announced when the flagship positioned itself away from the large structure. It was utilitarian in design with the archaic angular slopes that the Cybrex, the Zakan's former deities, favored in their constructions although Ruteba wasn't sure the machines were capable of understanding or even appreciating their own designs. "We're being hailed by the _Tuan te Tina_."

"Put them on screen." The Akorai complied pressing a few holographic keys and a large holo display materialized just in front of the obrservation window. The face of Amiran (Admiral) Tekonau, his glowing yellow eyes, a trait shared by all males looking straight at the third prince, he was somewhere in his six hundreds and was a cherished mentor to Ruteba from his earlier years.

"Amiran!" Ruteba smiled at the old man who smiled back and saluted. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I have gathered the necessary information you requested before our departure from Zakan. I am sending it over to you now." Amiran Tekonau spoke in a low but still audible voice, he turned to look at his Akorai and told him to transfer the information packet to the _Teniman Scion_. "I hope you find it satisfactory."

A moment later and the Akorai aboard the _Teniman_ reported having received an urgent message with a priority info packet attached to it. The information within it caused the Scion to nod as he read it over. His eyes widening when he came to one particular section. He looked back at the Amiran and said, "What exactly am I supposed to do with this?"

"Well you wanted to make the Swarm ' _pay'_ so the Emperor authorized the use of WMDs. So we'll have to make those count." Tekonau explained but had a nagging feeling the prince wasn't done yet and he was right.

"What's the point of using the missiles when all they're going to do is get pummeled and we'll have wasted good ordinances and ammunition. Our lances and artillery are good enough to get the job done." Ruteba countered, stating what everyone knew to be fact and then added. "Besides, our tactics are solid, keep them at range and blast them to kingdom come!"

Several heads nodded involuntarily from among his bridge crew. The Amiran just stared at his former pupil and couldn't help but be proud but at the same time he cringed when the prince gave him one of his signature mischievous grins. He had a feeling the young man had something up his sleeve that he was keeping to himself but didn't want to push him too far.

"If that is all, Amiran?" Tekonau shook his head and the Scion said, "Very well then I'll go over the list again and then decide on who does what. Agreed?"

"Of course, Scion." The Amiran bowed his head and saluted before the holo displayed disappeared and the observation window was no longer obscured. There in full view of the bridge was the JDB in all is Cybrex glory. Its slopes reflecting the light from the system's binary stars. A large blue giant star eclipsing the smaller one, they were the youngest stars that the Zakan have come across in some time and the scientists on board the flagship and its sister battleships were ecstatic at the amount of physics data they had been able to gather.

Ruteba couldn't help but dread the upcoming battle. If they were going to win they will need to use all of their wits and technology at their disposal or risk another invasion. Then just thinking about the situation, Ruteba couldn't help but laugh lightly. After all they were the ones invading a galaxy that is possibly already under the Swarm's dominion but if any of the data gathered from that probe they sent in is true, then the Swarm may not have spread too far, yet.

However, that just opened up another question in the young prince's mind, mainly concerning the fact if they were wrong in assuming that the galaxy they're invading was indeed the home galaxy of the much hated parasites. But he just shrugged it off and then turned to his Akorai. "Any word on the rest of the fleet?"

The Akorai, to his credit, answered immediately. "Yes, Scion. The fleet reports all ships have arrived."

"Composition of fleet, Reitanen (Lieutenant) Rabaere?" Ruteba asked, as he turned to his left and looked at the frowning Reitanen. He raised an eyebrow and inquired. "Is there something wrong?"

"There is, Scion." Rabaere nodded and pressed a few holo keys, his holo screen switched images to show a list of the ships that were joining the fleet. From what he saw, Ruteba gathered that almost forty ships, cruisers and a few destroyers, were not on it. "As you may have noticed, Scion, there are forty ships missing."

"You sure you didn't eat them, Reitanen?" The Scion asked politely but the underlying sarcasm, aimed at the man's apparent weight, annoyed the Reitanen but he shook it off knowing how the prince's sense of humor tended to be harmless, sometimes.

"As much as I would love to rebuke you for that, your _highness_. I am afraid that this raises some alarming quest-" He was interrupted by the Akorai who yelled out "...ships jumped in. All of them matching the forty _missing_ ships, Scion."

"See, Reitanen." Ruteba told the still annoyed fellow who scowled at his holo screen muttering curses. "You shouldn't worry too much or you'll eat yourself to death."

Several of the bridge crew laughed loud enough for the overweight Reitanen to glare death at them. Each of them stopped laughing and prayed they didn't shivved in their sleep. On the other hand the Prince just watched with amusement as the crew went deathly silent and then made a mental note not to anger the Reitanen for the duration of their expedition, he wasn't too fond of getting shivved either and being the Scion of the Emperor wouldn't save him from that fate.

"Scion, the fleet have taken position at our port and starboard sides as well as above and below." The Akorai announced in a crisp and proper manner then continued. "All ships report green across and are ready to initiate Jump."

"Patch me to the fleet, Akorai." Ruteba ordered and sat straight in his throne/command chair.

"Your patched in to all ship comm, Scion." The Akorai called out after his fingers danced over the delicate holo keyboard for a few seconds.

"Attention all ships. This is your Scion speaking." Ruteba began, his voice taking on a more authoritative tone. "Today we make history...well rather re-make history. In front of us we have one of the greatest discoveries we have made as a species in over millennia, this gentlemen is the key to our species and our galaxy's further glory. Out there somewhere is our enemy and we have been tasked with finding and eliminating the threat they pose to our great civilization's expansion into the void. I know I usually have a more sense of drama whenever I give a speech but I will not indulge in that at this time. I simply want to say that I will see all on the other side and hope to the gods that we come out of this task with as many lives as we can. For the Imperium! For the Empress! For the Mothers!"

His bridge crew cheered as he finished addressing the fleet. He had no doubts the other members of his fleet were cheering as well. He had to admit though that he was gifted in the art of oratory but felt he needed to improve his public speaking skills just a little bit further. No matter who or what was listening to him, his charismatic personality and determination will often lead others to follow his orders blindly and on rare occasions commit acts of genocide, case in point being about a hundred years past when an alien fleet massacred the inhabitants of one of the outer colonies and enslaved the survivors.

 **-Flashback-**

 _Scion Ruteba and several officers disobeyed orders and with a fleet of just thirty cruisers they engaged the alien fleet, consisting of a battleship, forty cruisers and twenty-two destroyers and utterly crushed them. With their technological superiority, the Zakan winning the engagement was inevitable, the battleship had been a bit harder to subdue but was eventually destroyed. When the invasion forces landed at locations where the captive Zakan were being held, they found their females brutalized and violated, this resulted in the Scion entering a state known to the Zakan as Immorum, something akin to a person going berserk with the added exception of the ability to destroy an entire planet's inhabitants via psychic means._

 _The Akorai was there that day when the report came from the ground forces explaining what had happened. The Scion went into a fit of rage and stampeded out of the bridge and got on the next dropship going to the surface. There he went off to see for himself and what he saw caused his Immorum to kick in. With his hands in the air the Scion was enveloped in a bright yellow aura, so intense those near him were temporarily blinded, as he began systematically killing the alien inhabitants of the planet by literally crushing their heads from the inside out via telekinesis._

 _Turning to the Zakan soldiers around him he shouted angrily at them, "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU STANDING AROUND FOR?! DESTROY THEM ALL! NO BEING, BE THEY ALIEN OR NOT, ESCAPES EXECUTION FOR HARMING THE MOTHEERRRRSSS! NO ONE!"_

 _All of the soldiers involved in that invasion blindly obeyed as they were overcome with Immorum, though it was later discovered that the planet was only a colony, a well developed world but a colony nonetheless. Aliens rushed about trying desperately to escape the onslaught of Zakan soldiers tearing their people apart, in the literal sense. Body entrails, gore and blood flooded their cities as the Zakan exacted their righteous vengeance on these alien scum. When the carnage subsided and the Zakan soldiers stood over the millions of alien corspses, the Scion radioed his Akorai and ordered him to open a general communication line on all frequencies and spectrum so that any civilization with the technology to listen and translate their language will hear his voice._

 _"ATTENTION!" The Scion declared, his voice shook with the effects of the Immorum, "TO THE ALIENS WHO DARE ATTACK THE ZAKAN! HEAR THIS VOICE AND KNOW FEAR! FOR UNSPEAKABLE CRIMES AGAINST THE MOTHERS I, SCION OF THE EMPEROR, PROTECTOR OF THE ZAKAN AND GUARDIAN OF THE MOTHERS! HEREBY ORDER YOUR INSIGNIFICANT SPECIES TO DIE! WE ARE COMING FOR YOU! IT MATTERS NOT WHERE YOU RUN, HIDE OR COWER! IT MATTERS NOT IF YOU STAND AGAINST OUR MIGHT! BECAUSE I, SCION RUTEBA, WILL DESTROY YOU UTTERLY, I WILL END YOUR PATHETIC RACES' EXISTENCE AND NOTHING WILL STAND IN MY WAY!"_

 **-End Flashback-**

Even now the Akorai could only shudder in fear, he glanced at the Scion and noticed the man lost in his own thoughts. To see him now one would only see the exterior, the image that is projected for the benefit of the public. But the Akorai knew, he knew that underneath that friendly and sometimes annoying exterior was a twisted and tormented soul that had witnessed something that has only happened once, twice now if you count the alien attack on their colony. The Scion was an emotionally disturbed individual who will stop at nothing to ensure the survival of his race, going so far as to exterminate entire races and even planets. This caused the Council of Mothers to implore to the Empress to not give him command of the Vanguard Fleet but she simply told them that he was perfect for the job.

Even the Swarm, for all their parasitic nature, were not subject to the Scion's wrath. As were the Fallen Empires, whose ships were too busy fighting against the Swarm to have any real effect on the colonies. Zakan fleets kept them at bay in preparation for the eventual invasion of Fallen Space, and protected the outer colonies with zealous vigor. Ever since that second time the Mothers were affected by the brutality of outside machinations, the Zakan had increased their spending on ships and training new warriors each year.

Population markers were removed and the sudden birth rates increased with many newborns being put into Time Chambers, a technology gifted unto the Zakan for their continued patronage to the Archivists. The Time Chambers act as a sort of accelerated growth tank, within it a batch of about four thousand warriors each, as the name suggests, the time chambers somehow manipulate time and space to increase or fast forward time within the confines of the chambers. Added to this was an Enchantress, a female Zakan who holds this rank is usually a very old and very powerful psionic, who is tasked with flash feeding the warriors with mental information about their race.

As for the fast fowarding of time itself, the theory states that if a day passes by in realtime, over a hundred years may pass by within the chamber thus eliminating the need for waiting years for their soldiers to grow. So as soon as the warriors step out of the chambers they are immediately put through a gruesome training program that tests, their psionics, strength, endurance and resolve. From that day forth the need for warriors quite literally became a thing of the past as new warriors could be produced within days after birth and then trained for a week before deployment. (A cookie for anyone could guess what I mean by that, I'll give you a hint: shift+~).

"Ships are ready to jump." The Akorai informed the Scion who nodded and then gave the order.

"All ships. On my command...initiate jump sequence."

For the next ten minutes the ships gathered some two kilometers away from the JDB, began blinking out of existence in a flash of light, one by one the ships disappeared. Their jump drives activated and the flagship was suddenly engulfed in the same blinding light, Ruteba was thinking how much he hated _jumping_ , good thing he hadn't had lunch yet or dinner or breakfast...whatever time it was! The _Teniman Scion_ and the remaining ships blinked away and once more the area around the JDB was empty with only the two stars to keep it company.

* * *

 **Milky Way Galaxy...**

 **Somewhere at the rim edge of the Terminus system**

 _ **SR-12 SSV Normandy**_

Amanda was happy to finally get out of her lab and even more happier to be on this ship. Her salarian counterpart, Dr. Helios was also excited but not as much. She woke up from bed and rolled over to her left side and saw the time, it read; 4:58 AM. _Darn training_ , she groaned and then got up. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were droopy but she got on her feet groggily and made her way to the bathroom in her cabin. It was the same cabin that her famous ancestor had used when he was in command of the ship all those years ago. Its come a long way since then, bigger than all of its predecessors, a light cruiser by modern standards. Its hull was now more sleeker and its wings still sported their eezo engines but with an added boost from the two medium Antimatter reactors on board, this meant of course that the ship's interior needed more storage space for both reactors and the new TANTALUS core.

It was a stealth frigate before the upgrades but that description did it no justice now. In fact calling it a _stealth_ ship would be an insult, with the new reactors powering the various other systems and assisting in taking pressure off from the main power (TANTALUS) core, the stealth systems have been upgraded to a tier 3 cloaking system that literally makes the ship disappear. However, the cost of the new upgrades meant only specialized ships could be afforded, the Salarians capitalized on this front as did the humans but the Turians found it distasteful.

"Commander?" EDI, the on board AI and one of the few remaining members of Amanda's former crew, spoke up when she noticed Shepard was awake. "Is the ship to your liking?"

"Yes it is, EDI." Amanda nodded absentmindedly as she finished splashing water on her face. "I do have a question though."

"Oh...really?" EDI hesitating was amusing to say the least as she had gained full sentience the last few centuries and had developed a personality that screamed professional!

"When you were-" Suddenly the ship's alarm began blaring loudly and the emergency lights flickered on. "EDI whats going on?"

"Unknown." EDI replied then said, "Scans indicate we've dropped out of warp and have arrived at our destination...hmm, there seems to be a lot of debris which is likely what set off the alarms..."

"...but?" Amanda was not the patient type but she manage with the AI since she was basically family.

"But the scans also indicate that there is a star cluster further out of the rim." EDI finished as Amanda processed that information. _A star cluster further away from the rim of the galaxy?_ she pondered this and came up with nothing. She was curious why they haven't detected that star cluster before but then again their sensors, no matter how much she hated to admit, were that great. She sighed and put on her dress blues.

"I'm heading to the CIC, have all crew report to their stations." Amanda ordered but she stopped when EDI told her she'd already done that about a second after the alarms went off. "You know, you could have told me."

"But where's the fun in that?" EDI giggled...she actually giggled and then told Shepard to meet her at the cockpit.

A few minutes later, somehow the designers left out upgrading the elevators as well which was a pain in the butt since they're so freaking slow! First thing she's going to do when she returns to the Citadel to turn in her report is to requisition new and much faster elevators to be fitted into every piece of technologically advanced ships and buildings they have. _Seriously! My great-grandmother is slow but even she would have beaten the damned elevator to the next floor...using the stairs!_

She walked the length of the CIC deck, the galaxy map slowly rotating in midair in its 3D form, the newer computers whirring to life as crewmen took to their stations. Holographic screens appeared on each terminal displaying statistics of the ship's performance, engine and crew status. Along the way several crewmen stopped and saluted her to which she returned the gesture. Her green eyes scanned her surroundings and she felt satisfied as well as having a feeling of pride in her chest.

Reaching the cockpit she found the AI's mechanical platform, a slender and curvy female form that had underwent several synthesis surgeries to make appear more organic. EDI turned around in the pilot's chair wearing a dull blue Alliance cap, standard issue from four hundred years ago. None of which were still made. Amanda knew it belonged to her ancestor's oldest friend on the Normandy, former ACE pilot, known as Joker. EDI had been romantically involved with the man but she would rather not know how that relationship worked.

"Commander Shepard." EDI said as she stood from the chair and saluted.

"Please EDI, just Amanda will do." The newly appointed Commander of the Normandy, told the AI but then added. "And may I call you aunty?"

"No you may not, Amanda." EDI's quick response broke a record, one that only Joker had managed to do several time, EDI contemplated on that memory for a moment then spoke, "To call me _aunty_ is to imply I am old. I am not _old!"_

"Jeez...take it easy." Amanda said apologetically as she raised her hands in defense. "I'm sorry, EDI."

"I know. Oh come here." EDI suddenly embraced Amanda in a loving and motherly hug. If she could, she would have cried a stream of tears, but the effect was the same. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry..."

Taken by surprise, Amanda felt something she hadn't in a long time. She felt sadness settling itself into her usual happy demeanor as a sudden rush of memories of her father on his deathbed and the news of her grandfather's untimely demise as he destroyed the last bastion of piracy in the Terminus reached her at the age of 6. Her own tears started to form but she held them back and inhaled deeply to maintain some semblance of calmness. EDI had pulled back and stood in front of her with a smile, so human and yet not so human. It was a disconcerting and at the same time very soothing to see the AI in this manner.

"I'm sorry for losing it like that, Commander Shepard." EDI said then corrected herself. "Sorry. Amanda."

Amanda smiled at the AI platform and wondered if she was still shackled to the ship or she had transferred all of her programming to the platform. Seemingly able to read what was on her mind, EDI told her that she was indeed no longer a part of the ship but still maintains a presence in order to make the ship run much more smoother. On that note, Amanda was reminded of the new Council law that states that AIs that have gained sentience would be treated with the same amount treatment afforded to any organic being but there were still discrimination among the Citadel races but where it matters most the AIs are relied upon to perform with efficiency.

"Its alright, EDI." Amanda assured the AI who nodded before adding, "Whatever it is you're blaming yourself for...know that neither I or my fathers before me blame you for anything. You are not at fault for what happened that day."

"But if only I-"

"No. I am telling you that it wasn't your fault. EDI you are one of the most advanced piece of technology that we have to date and with each day you and you grow stronger and become more _human_." Amanda said, her voice changing to a stern tone yet still comforting enough to not spook the AI. "My father always looked up to you as did my grand father and great grandfather. You are family...including Liara."

"Liara...how is she?"

"She's fine. Last time she contacted me was when-"

The sensors went crazy as something was detected on approach from the far flung rim cluster. EDI began analyzing the data and gasped.

"What is it, EDI?" Amanda asked, she saw the look of surprise on the AI's face. Again it was almost human. The Commander waited for an answer but EDI was unnervingly silent. "EDI?"

"Commander." One of the Ensigns nearby yelled out. She was a little younger than Amanda but she had more experience and Amanda's motto was _experience outranks ranks_? "We have incoming ships four million kilometers at the far side of the system. They have no eezo emissions that we can detect but they seem to be using warp drives."

"Warp drives?" Amanda knew what that meant. Well it could either mean that Cybrex were still around or it may be some other species which have developed the warp drive without needing to use eezo. Nonetheless, she wasn't taking any chances. "Activate ship cloak and maintain orbit around that moon's darkside."

EDI snapped out of her trance and heard the last bit of Commander Amanda Shepard's order and rushed back to her seat. She didn't need to use the holo keyboard in front of her choosing instead to use her wireless connection to pilot the ship and to be honest Amanda was glad that it was the AI that was piloting the ship. Basically the ship was one huge body that can be moved around like any organic would move their limbs and body to navigate around in space, with practically no obstacles, other than the occasional debris or space rock, the ship would move around faster than normal.

They got in position and waited for the registered signatures using warp drives to appear. From this distance they would not be able to see them with the naked eye but with the advances in sensor techs, to some extent, they might be able to make out the type of ships used. They may even make out some details but other than that it was a waiting game.

"Amanda. Sensors indicate ships' numbers at four thousand." EDI her voice sated with worry. Amanda had to agree, that many ships could only mean one of two things, either these aliens were on the war path or they were fleeing from something. "ETA to arrival in 5...4...3...2...1...there!"

The holo screen replaced the galaxy map as a large holo display showed the first images of the alien ships as they arrived. The pictures were fuzzy but with each passing second and with the help of EDI the images were cleared enough to get a good view of who they were dealing with and what they saw scared the beejezus out of them. The first initial number of ships were in the hundreds and ranged from heavy frigates to large cruisers, said frigates were over two or three hundred meters long, the cruisers were about three times that size and then the dreadnoughts, dear god the dreadnoughts, were two times the size of the new Destiny Ascension which is the most advanced ship in Citadel Space.

However, the ship count still had over three hundred ships unaccounted for and when they emerged the crew could only gape as what seemed to be very large dreadnoughts, each over ten to twenty kilometers easy, dropped out of FTL and formed up on the rest of their fleet. Amanda had no doubts on her mind that the fleet of ships that appeared just moments ago were on the warpath because no one civilization, even from among the Citadel races, could field that many warships. With the economy stretched thin as it is they wouldn't be able to provide maintenance to the number of ships this alien fleet had.

But the strangest thing of all was that the ships looked almost organic in nature with dull grey and green hulls, with the larger ships sporting what looked liked tentacles. Sensors detected a strange anomaly but the signatures matched no known FTL methods, it had the properties of the known warp drives but there were other peculiar properties that suggested the new signatures also used wormhole generators and something akin to a theory of hyperspace. Then EDI alerted the Commander and the crew that was detecting what seemed to be a tear in space and the holo screen struggled to maintain visual.

"EDI what the hell is going?" Amanda demanded but the AI was silent. The CIC crew watched the screen, still not believing the size of the behemoths on screen. "Dammit! Somebody tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Commander!" The same Ensign shouted out again this time with more urgency. "We're getting some weird readings here...those ships are not using eezo-"

"I know that, Ensign McBride."

"But Commander...those ships also don't use any known energy reactors." Ensign McBride added a little exasperated. "Our sensors also read that each ship is a living being!"

"What?!" Almost everyone in the CIC screamed at the same time.

"Its true." EDI confirmed but this didn't help any. "But be assured that they do not seem to have detected our presence. In fact I believe that they cannot detect our presence at all."

"What does that mean?" A crewman asked nervously.

"It means that they either don't have the tech to detect us or they don't even know the concept of cloaking." Amanda spoke up causing everyone in the CIC to look at her. "It makes sense. By now they would have found us and attacked or contacted us but they haven't so we can safely assume they don't know we're here...and here I was about to dig my hands through all of that Cybrex tech."

It seemed that many have forgotten their original mission after the alien ships were detected and they chuckled, laughed or sighed. That mission will however, be put on hold while they waited for the alien fleet to pass. Then those same strange signatures flared up another round of alarms and this time the large holo screen as well as the 3D rendering on the tactical display, showed bright flashes of light and from them a fleet of five hundred ships appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

Again the crew gasped and gaped at the size of the five super dreadnoughts that faced the first alien fleet. There were at least ninety-five dreadnoughts, a hundred and fifty heavy-cruisers and the remaining two hundred and fifty consisted of medium cruisers. The ships were all sleek and with curved angles with hulls that seemed to reflect light from the giant red star in the system. The new fleet's ships matched the profile of the first organic looking ships in terms of hull sizes and maybe even fire power. The five hundred ships were hopelessly outnumbered but as everyone in the CIC saw, the new arrivals charged at the organic ships which did the same.

"Are they seriously going against that many ships?!" A turian crewman in the CIC asked, flabbergasted at the audacity of the new arrivals. Everyone had to agree with him that any fight against that many ships would be very one-sided but these sleek looking ships plowed on. Then something very amazing and similarly disturbing occurred. The five giant ships of the new fleet, fired what seemed to be a spinal mounted weapon, the fact that it was a very powerful directed energy weapon of pulsating blue light was not lost on the crew of the Normandy, especially EDI and the Commander. What was most disturbing was the fact that those ships fired all the way from where they had arrived, at the edge of the system some two and a half million kilometers adjacent to where the organic ships dropped out of FTL.

"What the hell?!" that same turian exclaimed loudly. Again everyone in the CIC had to agree with him.

"Interesting..." EDI muttered.

"What's so interesting, EDI?" Amanda inquired of their resident AI who was more knowledgeable on such matters regarding energy weapons. A fact that made her an honorary scientist among the science community members.

"That energy weapon is quite possibly more powerful than anything we have access to at the moment." EDI said calmly, as calm as an AI could be, and then turned to Shepard and said, rather bluntly, "If we were to engage with one of those ships we won't survive a second shot."

"I can tell." Amanda said thoughtfully. "Science Officer Thompson? What is your assessment on the matter?"

"Well Commander to be honest." SO Thompson was very nervous, not only because he was in the presence of a member of the famous Shepard family but also because she was talking to him. Managing to calm his nerves he spoke again. "I agree with EDI on this one but I'd have to take a look at their weapons up close to determine more about their effectiveness and even if we can adapt them to our own needs."

"Hmm...okay then," the Commander was thinking about what they said but her attention returned to the screen when she saw the blue light or lance if you look at it that way, struck one of the organic dreadnoughts. It cleaved right through its hull and exited out of the other side not stopping until the lance dissipated.

"Holy hell!" The turian once more expressed his disbelief. "Either my eyes are playing tricks on me, or those ships either don't have shields or that laser weapon ignores shields!"

This time everyone in the CIC panicked in agreement. It took a moment fore order to return with Amanda yelling at the crew as if they were kindergarten students. "Everyone settle down! Dammit you're all acting like children!"

"Yes." EDI looked at the crew with slight smirk but still maintained a scowling expression. Again it looks human but not human.

The rest of the sleek ships, the dreadnoughts in their fleet, opened fire and the exact same thing happened but this time energy readings could determine that they fired very large kinetic ammunition. "How large?" Amanda asked the SO.

"About the size of a two story house from the suburbs on Earth, in the 21st century." Thompson told her rather proudly.

"Okay...either they build things on a large scale or they are really, _really_ compensating for something." Amanda mumbled to herself but those near her could hear what she said and they laughed but not too loudly.

"You may want to watch this Commander." Ensign McBride gestured to the holo screen as it showed sleek ships firing salvo after salvo of their energy weapons and kinetic weapons rapidly closing the distance between them and the organic ships. _God...how did they do that to those ships?_ she asked herself mentally when she saw that the number of organic ships had dropped significantly from four thousand to a mere two thousand and a half and dropping faster than she could count. All of their frigates were gone, their cruisers barely holding it together, the dreadnoughts battered but still going but the giant organic ships seemed unfazed with only minor hull damages. So far the battle was in the sleek ships' favor but then noticed that organic ships were returning fire.

"Someone tell me what type of weapons those organic ships are using?" Amanda asked.

"Unknown...Commander its the same type of unknown energy source as their reactors." Ensign McBride responded very promptly, _huh...a new record_.

"And what about the other fleet? What type of reactors are they using?"

"Reactor signs show them using some type of antimatter energy, more efficient than the ones we have, but also some other energy emissions are consistent with an unknown energy reactor." Came the Ensigns reply before she continued. "Obviously these guys aren't using eezo as well. There is however, an anomaly."

"Ensign McBride is correct." EDI stated as she took over explaining. "The new ships are very advanced and the anomaly has the same signature that we registered when they dropped out of FTL. It seemed to be some sort of combination of three very different FTL methods. All of which produce a rather unstable tear in the fabric of space and _jump_ through it to arrive instantaneously at their destination but it requires a massive amount of energy and a long charge time."

"Wait, you're saying someone invented something similar to the Mass Relays?" SO Thompson's interest was piqued when he heard this as was everyone else but for entirely different reasons.

"Yes."

"Okay, then." Amanda could only wonder what kind of other technologies these new aliens possessed, but also had to wonder why the hell were they fighting in the galaxy's backyard. "I suggest we gather as much data as possi-we're recording everything right?"

"Yes we are, Commander." Ensign McBride smiled as did several other crewmen in the CIC.

"Okay. Well keep recording."

"Will do."

"Holy hell! Did anyone see that?!" The turian asked loudly his voice becoming very annoying.

But on the other hand his exclamation was fortuitous. For on the screen, the organic ships have engaged the sleek ships in mid range and were clearly proving to be a problem. The first hundred light cruisers buckled under the concentrated fire of some sort of acid attack combined with what looked like fighters or bombers, except these looked more like Rachni than anything else. For about two minutes the tables were turned as the sleek cruisers were being decimated left and right by the organic dreadnoughts. The sleek dreadnoughts and giant ships provided fire support easily destroying several hundred of the organic dreadnoughts but they weren't doing much at that range. It suddenly became apparent to everyone in the CIC that the organic fleet excelled in mid to close ranged space combat and with their acidic type attacks the sleek ships' shields which were very advanced, even by Citadel standards, were being broken and the ships themselves exploded in brilliant balls of light and others just crumpled under the weight of the organic onslaught.

Amanda then noticed something peculiar. From one of the five giant ships a single tube like object was launched. She quickly realized what it was, a missile-a very large missile-that headed towards the clustered formation of organic ships. Several organic fighters and bombers tried to attack the missile but the damned thing had point-defense turrets of all things! It sailed silently into the cluster and detonated.

"Goddess..." an Asari crew member gasped in shock. Everyone did. It was a well known fact that WMDs were banned from being used in Citadel space and the law was enforced on such matters now that they had the power to do so. But to see it in action was quite different. They stared at the destruction it caused in awe, disgust, and fear. "Why would they do that? What gives them the right to do that?!"

"Relax, Thelia." a human crewman said from behind the asari. "They don't know any better. They're just... _alien_."

"But everyone here is _alien_!" Thelia pointed out to which even the AI, EDI, nodded. The man just shrugged.

"Look." A quarian said turning everyone's attention back to the battle unfolding before them.

"I don't believe it." Someone said a hushed voice.

As the blinding explosion cleared there was nothing left of the organic dreadnoughts, their cruisers and almost half of the giant organic warships were destroyed with the rest in critical condition. The thing that caused the crew to pause was that the organic were leaking out what looked like fuel but when examined closely by the Normandy's sensors, EDI declared, "It is not fuel. In every sense of the word...it is blood."

Indeed the organic ships seemed to be bleeding and there only a couple hundred of them left, only a small fraction of the original four thousand. The sleek ships had lost all of their light cruisers and some medium cruisers with the remainder of them heavily damaged but their dreadnoughts were only lightly damaged. With brutal efficiency the sleek dreadnoughts and their five giants charged forward and fired their lances which effectively cut several of the organic ships in two pieces or caused them to explode. The organic ships sensing defeat tried to escape but their enemy was relentless and hunted them down.

"Goddess, let them go! Just let them go!"

"Petty Officer Thelia, calm yourself." A Lieutenant berated the asari who ignored the man as she watched hopelessly as the organic ships were torn apart by the sleek ships' kinetic cannons until there was only one organic giant ship remaining. It remained in its original place when the battle started until the end. One of the sleek giants, the one that fired the abominable missile approached the organic ship as if talking to it. From some of the crews' perspective it seemed as if they were asking it for any final words.

A defiant piercing shriek nearly blew up the Ensign's ear drums. Everyone in the CIC covered their ears when the shriek ended and for a moment there was no activity, Amanda thought it was some kind of attack but it was doubtful. All eyes returned to the screen as they watched the final organic ship open fire on _all_ of the sleek ships destroying at least twenty dreadnoughts down with it as the five sleek giants fired their blue lances and cutting the organic ship into pieces.

The battle ended with the crew of the Normandy unsure as to what to do next. Should they continue with their original mission, recover what they can from the battle or return to the citadel. They turned to Commander Shepard who calmly composed herself and then said, "I know most if not all of you are unnerved. Heck I am but that doesn't mean we abandon our mission. However, we will be careful as to not trigger those ships' sensors even if they can't detect our presence. EDI get ready to transfer this data to the Citadel when those ships leave the system. Everyone get back to your stations, I want this ship ready for anything, ready to get away from here if necessary. Clear?!"

A series of 'ayes' followed and the CIC crew rushed back to their stations. Amanda watched EDI return to the cockpit and with a heavy sigh she headed to the crew deck. The elevator ride was still annoying as hell but the revelation of such powerful ships out there was heavy on her mind as she contemplated on how to tell the Council. Would they believe her or not, Councillor Tevos was the one who worried her the most but the others would out vote the Matriarch's decisions if she doesn't believe her.

 **Crew Deck**

She stopped suddenly when her biotics flared up and her mind went blank and she saw black. Then there was a blinding white light and she found herself in some sort of hallway. It was very futuristic and the designs of the walls displayed a sort of artistic flair comparable to the Asari and some human cultures. She heard voices and moved towards it at the end of the hallway, there she saw two men and she quickly ducked and leaned agains the wall. She was near enough to hear the voices speaking in a strange language but it sounded...human. She took a chance and peaked but her eyes widened in shock when one of the men was standing right around the corner staring at her.

Retracting her head she made ready to run but then stopped and wondered why the man, a human from the brief glimpse she saw of him, wasn't sounding the alarm. She got her answer when she decided to risk it and stepped out of the hallway and into plain view of the men but they didn't seem to respond to her or even notice that she was there. _Huh...that's new, usually when I walk into a room full of men they would gawk at me,_ she thought cheekily then mentally slapped herself for thinking of such things.

"E uara moa arei!" One of the men, the one facing Amanda, said excitedly. "I bon tuanko bwa ti na moanna ao ngkoe."

The other man seemed to growl and then reached into a satchel under his robes... _wait what?!_ The two men wore robes, long robes made out of black material which looked like silk and cotton. They were definitely human but their eyes were glowing yellow! _Okay this is weird_. She walked up to the men and saw their faces, they were both young, perhaps in their late teens. She shook her head and listened to what the other was saying.

"Kang butae!" the other man yelled at his compatriot and handed him what looked like two thin metal bars about four inches long, one inch wide and 0.3 inches thick. Amanda knew that it must be some sort of currency but one she was unfamiliar with. It then occurred to her that the two metal bars were made from gold, _who the hell still uses gold bars as currency...and what's with this setup?!_

All around her there were high-tech gadgetry and it seemed that the room they were in was some kind of mess hall, the two men were out place in it until she noticed the armor they wore underneath the robes. The one who seemed to have won some bet took off his robes, revealing a skin tight black body armor that seemed to be alive, it writhed around his body until it solidified to form solid ebony plating that still resembled the man's muscles. She was staring hungrily at the young man's well toned body, even if it was his amour then snapped out of it and ran all the way to the other end of the mess.

She explored further and found herself looking out of an observation window, large enough to fit in two shuttles through it, but on the other side was space and beyond that was a the very moon her ship was parked behind. _This is getting weird._ She said as she moved away from the window and for three minutes found herself in the bridge of the ship...or what looked like the bridge, it was way too advanced even with the familiar holo screens. There was a young man sitting on what looked like a anti-gravity chair, the way it floated a few inches of the floor, talking with the men on the bridge.

"Akea riki ae e tuku?" The man on the chair asked, his voice was calm and yet held power. Like the rest of the men she'd seen on her way here, those on the bridge also had glowing yellow eyes.

"Scion, iai te bwai ae I kanamakinna." The one on the right side of the man on the floating chair spoke up seemingly addressing the guy on the floating chair.

"Ngai naba. Ma tera ae-never mind. Keep me updated on the fleet's status and alert me if anything changes." Amanda was stunned to say the least. First all of these guys were speaking in a language, that although sounded human in nature but still alien, then all of a sudden the guy on the floating chair started speaking English. _Everyone on this ship is really weird,_ she told herself for how many times now, then she backed away as the man got up from his chair and walked towards her.

"Of course, Scion. By your will." _Now they're all speaking ENGLISH!_ She screamed mentally as she stepped aside and let the guy, this Scion, depart from the bridge. Now that she thought about it there seemed to be no doors on this ship, everywhere she went the wasn't a single door to bar her way. _Strange._

She waited around for a while listening to what the bridge crew was saying while she was mentally taking pictures of everything she saw, intending to review them later on, benefits of having a photographic memory. She stopped when she heard someone mention something about a gravitational anomaly coming from the darkside of the sixth planet's second moon. Her heart began to race faster as she tried to think of a way to return to her body, if she was even outside of her body in some sort of astral projection.

"A gravitational anomaly?" The man on the left side of the still floating chair, asked curiously and Amanda saw that out of all of the men she'd seen, he was the only one who was actually overweight.

"Yes. On that moon's darkside, the odd thing is that it disappears every now and then. I didn't detect this until after the battle with the Swarm." the man on the right side of the chair explained. Amanda found him interesting, he was young like most of the men on this ship and she was beginning to think if they were like the Asari, all males and no females but then she dismissed that idea, _weirder_. "I don't think its anything but there is a possibility that there's a ship there. Maybe it is using stealth tech?"

"Out of the question." The man on the left scoffed and turned back to his terminal effectively stopping their conversation. Amanda and EDI's theory was proven correct. More or less. These people don't have the tech to detect a cloaked ship but do understand the concept which means that if they ever get into a conflict with them then this would be a key asset in fighting their superior tech. She decided that enough time was spent in the bridge and made her way out turning left around a corner and bumped into someone.

She was on the floor before she knew it and there was someone with yellow glowing eyes staring down at her with a curious look on his face. She realized it was the guy on the floating chair, the Scion, of all the people she had to bump into on this ship it had to be him! _Great, just great_! The man smiled at her and she was beginning to regret her decision to come this way. Her heart throbbed harder and raced faster but not because she was afraid but because she was feeling something else. Something completely foreign, something that only her mother had told her about when she was sixteen.

Her face warmed up when she gazed into his eyes and saw his goofy smile. He then spoke to her and his voice was smooth and pleasing to her ears. "You kept me waiting long enough...you know how long I had to stand here waiting for you?"

"Wait...what?!" Amanda was shocked. She'd been ignored by every other man on this ship and the moment one of them notices her ends up being a creep, _don't get me wrong...he's good looking, has the body of an athlete crossed with a body builder, god look at those abs...and his pac-STOP IT!_ She slapped her face to get that train of thought out of her head. She flared her biotics, a dark blue glow surrounded her body and the man's smile vanished. He frowned at her, seemingly contemplating what was going on, most people who see a biotic run the other away but this guy looked like he was _actually_ confused by her sudden bluish glow.

"If that's how you want to play it." He smiled a devilish grin and flared up an aura of yellow light that engulfed him and twirled around his body in a misty yellow glow.

Both of them stood like that for a few minutes locking eyes with each other and then suddenly, Amanda gasped for air and and abruptly sat up on a bed in the medbay of the Normandy. EDI, Dr. Kane the CMO of the ship, Dr. Helios, Ensign McBride, PO Thelia, the turian whose name was James Vakarian, and Liara were all gathered around her bed with concerned looks on their faces.

"Oh goddess!" Liara said as she hugged her goddaughter tightly as if letting her go would make her fall into unconsciousness a second time. "What happened?"

Every seemed to anticipate her response and Amanda knew it was going to take some time to explain fully. So she sighed and asked for some water. She finished drinking and handed the cup back, then she turned back to them and began, "You guys might want to take a seat for this one."

* * *

 **Well there you have it folks. Chapter III and the first of the Swarm story phase. There may be three more or two if I can get the time to write chapters as long as this. I don't know the word count but I do hope this is satisfactory to you, dear readers. I try my best at describing the battle unfolding but I decided to explain it from the point of view of the Normandy crew. I have written some AU and some inspirational words, phrases and sentences as well as some explanations. If you can find them then you win a free One-way ticket to the Antarctic to learn tap dancing from the Penguins, hehehe, begging you pardon.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and as always, till next time. This is Danen5 avoiding a court summons...holy shi-cow!**


	5. Notice

**Greetings Dear Readers,**

 **I apologize for this but I just need to Clarify that I will be putting this story on hold for now as I will focus on a single story for the foreseeable future. I will continue this story later as I will write them in their full sets and then post one by one and make changes where necessary. For further information please contact me via PM.**

 **If this message is on this fic then the above mentioned reason applies and the rest of the chapters will be developed and then posted later...like a thousand years later! hahaha. But seriously.**

 **-Danen5, Store Manager Extraordinaire.**


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